A Chance Meeting

Caiside burst out laughing at Emmett's questions. He really was like a child, imagining Caiside's story like some kind of fairytale. It took a moment for his laughter to subside, but he found he felt lighter after it. "No, he was not a... a posh man. In fact, he's probably the exact opposite of how you're imagining him." Caiside stifled another unfortunate giggle before he set about correcting Emmett's vision. "He was a prince of a savage place, even without considering how he grew up. Not that he wasn't smart, he was just... rough. Especially during the war." When he was younger, Caiside had thought this an unfair tragedy, but now, after everything, he just felt kind of numb about it. Who won? The question cut through Caiside like an icy blade, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to find the words to properly answer it. "There... was a betrayal. A series of them. And in the end... he lost. Someone close to him slit his throat, and left him to bleed out at the top of the world." Caiside wanted to shrug, and leave it at that, but he could already anticipate the next question. "I... made a deal, and was left alone, after everything. It was better than I expected, given the circumstances." He sighed, and looked over at Emmett, straightening up so he could feel like he wasn't being towered over. "I can't imagine things will go so badly for you, as long as you act with some sense." Caiside Deep in the ocean, dead and cast away Where innocence is burned in flames A million miles from home, I'm walking ahead I'm frozen to the bones, I am...